


A Wonderful Life

by Raaj



Category: Bravely Default (Video Game) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Gen, Secret Santa, planeswarden Tiz, the character death is in the past but yeah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-24 12:10:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13213485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raaj/pseuds/Raaj
Summary: When Planeswarden Tiz is assigned a mission in Caldisla, he sees what might have been.  But he's frustrated to never see how he might have gotten there.  Secret Santa fic for herbae-dragonae on tumblr.





	A Wonderful Life

The Planeswardens divided missions according to who was best-suited for the task. Undercover missions made the differences between the members quite clear.

Yew and Agnès spent the most time aboard in their headquarters, shipping out for only dire emergencies, where the natives would be too distracted counting their blessings to question too much _how_ the Geneolgia heir or Her Holiness had been able to appear where they shouldn't be. Edea should have been in the same boat by all accounts, but as she put it, bravado could carry you far. She'd bluffed her way out of needing to explain herself in several worlds, to the vice-president's amusement. He had only flat out forbid her from going to a world once. That world's version of her had been kidnapped and raised by the most corrupt members of the Orthodoxy to be a vestal harsh and unyielding in her ideology, and she was the one causing half the problems. Edea had instantly decided she was going and hacked off half her hair and spent an entire morning convincing Ringabel they had a new male Planeswarden in order to change the vice-president's mind so she could go kick her own ass.

So, Edea went on more undercover missions than was strictly prudent by virtue of being Edea. But even then, she went on fewer missions than Ringabel, Magnolia, and Tiz each did.

Alternis was nearly as recognizable as Edea in his armor, but people were used to him coming and going too much to keep track of, and the armor hid any minor differences Ringabel might have from that world's dark knight. Magnolia, being from the moon, was not known on most versions of Luxendarc. Tiz, well...

"No one ever recognizes me because I'm a dead peasant," he'd had to explain to Edea on more than one occasion, when she was complaining that _he'd_ been asked to go and not her. This always stopped the grumbling, usually by upsetting her enough that she instead started on "don't say things like that!", and Ringabel got a pinched look on his face and the others just looked horrified and sad if they were in earshot, so he tried to say that as little as possible. But it was true. He went out on undercover missions the most because he knew how to blend in on Luxendarc better than Magnolia, and he was more discreet than Ringabel if the blond couldn't rely on impersonating Alternis, and he had no double to cause confusion or anyone to recognize him as being out of place because he and everyone who'd known him was dead. The logic was simple. He was so used to that reasoning that he was startled when the Vice President paused during instructions for his next mission and said, "Oh, yes. You'll need to avoid the king and the innkeeper in Caldisla. Egil, too. Hmm, hmm, this time is definitely trickier...but I just don't think Magnolia or Ringabel would do."

Tiz was at first distracted by the comforting knowledge that all three of those acquaintances survived in this world: there were too many worlds where the king's kidnapping went awry, or Karl grew weak and frail from grief and passed away, and ...well, Egil had nearly fallen into lava in a number of worlds. There were inevitably worlds where the 'nearly' wasn't accurate. But then he caught the implication of the Vice President's words and looked up. "My counterpart is alive in this world?"

"He is," the Vice President said, but he didn't elaborate beyond that. Tiz frowned, but hesitated to push. The question that had instantly come to mind was: how was that Tiz faring? How was he living? But that was hardly something he needed to know. The Vice President had already told him what he needed to know. He needed to avoid the king--likely the castle as a whole, just to be safe--and he couldn't visit the inn. Besides those two points, this would be a normal mission. It'd be...inappropriate to ask about the circumstances of someone he wasn't supposed to meet or interact with in any way. Nosy. And did he really want to know? The Tiz of that world could be miserable, and it wasn't like he'd be able to do anything about that.

No...he probably wasn't _miserable_. He did have Karl and Egil alive in his world, after all. Unless something tragic had befallen Agnès and Edea, he was already one of the luckier ones.

Tiz's throat tightened at that. The other survivor from Norende really was lucky, if all those people had survived.

He didn't ask.

The mission itself was a simple one: when the Holy Pillar had opened in that world, bits of the debris from the Celestial realm in the Dark Aurora had been dislodged. They'd made their way with the wreckage of Norende into the river that flowed downward to Caldisla. There was nothing world-ending, at least, but they were still potentially dangerous. Not exactly great to leave lying around, and odds were good that someone had already picked them up. They needed to be retrieved discreetly, without drawing any more interest in the otherworldly artifacts than their strangeness had already garnered. Tiz blended in at Caldisla better than a girl from the moon or a dark knight in full armor would.

It was a simple mission, but one that could have taken weeks, if not months, depending on how far the items had traveled. It luckily took only two days: one of the local witches had found them by the river while gathering the ingredients for another batch of potions. She'd sensed a bit of their power, but didn't seem to have figured out how to use any of them. Tiz made a show of acting excited about every magical bauble in her store yet not having the faintest clue what they did, which led up to him picking up one of the relics from the Dark Aurora and rambling about how 'mysterious' it looked. She was happy enough to sell her finds to an idiot who didn't have the slightest clue about magic, which made Tiz very happy that he'd found them before she actually sold them to an idiot or figured out what they were herself.

Mission done, he could have simply warped back to headquarters, but he had a private tradition on each world. His feet carried him toward the oldest of Caldisla's graveyards, and he was nearly to the entrance when he stopped dead in surprise, then whirled around and turned back about the corner, concealing himself in the nook behind the nearby fountain.

It wasn't too surprising that his own counterpart also visited the graveyard habitually--he should have realized that risk beforehand. However...why had the Vice President not warned him about _Agnès_ being in Caldisla as well? Had he not known she might visit?

Tiz cautiously peered over the rim of the fountain. Fortunately, the Tiz and Agnès of this world were too engrossed in their own conversation to have caught his dash to hide. They spoke too quietly to be heard over the distance and the fountain's quiet splashing, but the Planeswarden didn't care much what they were saying anyway. He was distracted simply by the sight Agnès made. She was dressed in casual clothing rather than her vestal or papal dress, and the outfit was more colorful than the somber traveling clothes she'd worn when he'd known her in his world. White and gold accented by green and small bits of pink made her look so cheerful and lively, though the easy smile on her face did that too.

The Tiz of this world was smiling too. Of course he was. He really was lucky to know Agnès in this world, not dead or traumatized but alive and happy. The Planeswarden in hiding felt a pang of guilt and heartache, resting his head against the fountain's rock. How had this Tiz protected the wind vestal to keep her alive at the Holy Pillar? Was Edea alive too? It seemed likely, with the two in front of him looking so content.

Lucky, lucky, lucky. Tiz already felt his heart tightening with envy before laughter broke out. He looked up just in time to see Agnès stop giggling first and step toward her friend, giving him--

If it hadn't been for the pair both blushing after Agnès stepped away, the Planeswarden wouldn't have believed his eyes, partially because it had been done in a heartbeat and partially because he'd never expected Agnès to do that in any world. But when his counterpart got over his fluster enough to return the peck on the cheek she'd given him, he had to believe it.

They weren't just both alive...they were _together_.

The hurt of the guilt and regret in the Planeswarden's heart were nearly forgotten in the vicious stab of jealousy he felt. He barely had the presence of mind to duck back down and edge further along the fountain as the couple passed it. Only a few feet away now, some words did manage to reach him:

"...Ready to go home now?"

"Mm, there's still a few chores to finish before dusk, so we'd better hurry..."

They had a home they took care of together, that they both returned to at the end of the day.

Lucky.

_It's not fair._

The moment the footsteps had receded out of his hearing, Tiz scrambled to his feet and, after a moment's hesitation, rushed to the graveyard. Something was different about this world. His counterpart must have done something extraordinary for things to be changed so much, and he wondered if Til might be alive, if that had given the Tiz of this world the strength he needed to keep others living too. But the headstone that had been commissioned for Norende village read exactly the same as it had in his world. Til was dead in this world, too. Standing in front of his brother's name, Tiz felt the familiar sadness, but he also felt a twinge of anger.

How could _that_ Tiz be happy when he'd failed his little brother, too?

There had to be something he'd done differently. _Something._ And some way to find out.

...

The Vice President was going to chew him out.

_If_ he found out. Nothing said he had to find out.

He walked with long, quick strides toward Norende, already knowing that must be where this world's Tiz and Agnès lived. The rebuilt village should be sprawling enough for him to avoid people, and he could learn more about how this Tiz was doing. Though, finding out what he had done in the past might be trickier.

Then again, _Ringabel_ impersonated himself often enough, didn't he? Tiz didn't have the same level of practice, but for this--he could probably pull it off. He could certainly convince neighbors. Not Agnès, obviously, she'd know, but...

...Would she?

If he went up to her, wouldn't she smile at him? Wouldn't she laugh with him? And maybe, she would even... It'd been so long since he'd thought about things like this, but he'd had fantasies of a peaceful life with Agnès before even if he'd never thought she'd be interested, and at the first chance, they easily rose back up: old thoughts of someday building a home together, visiting Egil in Caldisla together, making her smile with flowers he'd gathered while herding the sheep or other little gifts. Spending quiet nights in front of the fireplace cuddled together; he still remembered the time they'd piled up in Edea's bed, Agnès trusting him enough to curl up next to him for warmth. They'd all trusted each other completely by then, and she badly needed her rest, because she'd just awakened the earth crystal and they were already on their way to the Holy Pillar--

Where she'd died. She had died, with both blood and tears on her face, because Airy had betrayed her and he hadn't been smart enough to see through the deception beforehand, or strong enough to protect her and Edea, when the fairy revealed herself.

This Agnès wasn't the girl he'd fallen in love with. And he didn't want to deceive her in any way, not after what Airy had done. He just wanted _his_ Agnès to be alive, smiling and laughing. Failing that, he wanted to know what he had done wrong, what he could have done better, because there had to be something, the world couldn't be so senseless for her death, Edea's death, to boil down to just _bad luck_.

"...Sir? TIZ!"

Yew's voice nearly made the Planeswarden jump out of his skin, but from the boy's worried tone, he seemed to have been calling for a while.

"Tiz, if you don't respond, I'm going to pull you back right now...!"

Tiz grasped for the communication crystal on his belt, but he still felt disoriented, his mind bogged down with his thoughts. His throat was thick as he opened his mouth for something to say, and the only thing that came out was a stupid, "W...what?"

The Vice President's voice came from the crystal now, more quietly, directed to Yew. "Bring him back."

"No!" It was too late; a blinding light, and Tiz was back in headquarters. The unexpected change in location did nothing to help his disorientation, and he grasped the satchel flung over his back to hold onto something.

Yew looked both worried and sheepish from where he stood over the teleportation controls. "Sorry, sir. But I realized you were completely off from Caldisla, and I tried to get in touch with you for an update, but you..." He trailed off, his eyebrows furrowing as he peered at Tiz more closely. "Are you okay, sir?"

The Vice President tapped his staff on the floor. "It seems you succeeded in your mission, Tiz. Well done. How about we have some tea and we can discuss--"

"There's nothing to discuss," Tiz interrupted. "The mission was completed." He unslung the satchel roughly, nearly tempted to throw it at the older man, but Yew's eyes widening in alarm reminded him that that there were, after all, magical artifacts inside. He slowed his hand and gently put it on the floor instead. The Vice President seemed to already have an inkling that he'd strayed from Caldisla for reasons outside the mission, and that was more than enough, considering _he_ hadn't been done the courtesy of being told about Agnès. There was only one thing he wanted to say with his throat so dry: "Don't send me on a mission like that again, please." The 'please' was ingrained, but it did nothing to soften his tone, judging by the way both Yew and the Vice President were looking at him. He just needed to be alone for now; without another word, he turned and left.


End file.
